Baltit Fort Hunza | Historic place to visit in hunza

 

Overview Baltit Fort

Baltit Fort Hunza

Baltit Fort is a historic building located in karimabad valley Hunza. it is famous because of its infrastructure, on which the building has been constructed. the engineering used in the construction of baltit fort is simply awesome. 

These days baltit ford is one of the best tourist points in Hunza Gilgit Baltistan, people from all over the world came to karimabad Hunza to specially visit this amazing place.

The best thing about this fort is, there is everything present in the same condition as they have been used 700 years ago. the cultural aspect is always there, and once entered inside it totally amazes everyone with its fabulous artwork and traditional look present inside. 

Front View Of Baltit Fort

Location

Baltit Fort is built on the top of the rock of the mountain in baltit valley also known as karimabad nowadays. Its located at a very high altitude and can easily be seen from very distant places.

It is maintained by one of the private organizations known as AKTC (Agakhan Trust for culture). The look from the front of the fort is beautiful and is the symbol of the old heritage of Gilgit Baltistan, the designs made on wooden parts of the fort show the rich cultures of Gilgit Baltistan. 

The backside of baltit fort is very dangerous but wonderfully made by the architects of the time because it was made right on the top of the mountain and if something slept out from the back of the fort it will reach directly to the Hunza River from the altitude of almost 10km, so this looks like the area where the kings of the time must use for the punishment of the culprits and we have also heard about the backside of the fort that it has been using for the safety purposes by the kings as well. 

Canon, Hand made

Baltit Fort is located almost 2 hours drive from main Gilgit city if one can drive at 80km/h speed it means it is almost 130 km distance from Gilgit, due to buyer road conditions of KKH the distance can easily be covered within one & half hours. The distance from the main road to the gate of the fort also takes approximately 20 minutes because of the altitude and rough roads towards it. After reaching alyabad from Gilgit the road will take you to karimabad then the road towards the fort started right from the middle of karimabad and then starts climbing up karimabad valley. 

Karimabad is a very beautiful and very attractive valley due to its beautiful view and high location, so one can have the best viewpoints of all the lower Hunza from the top of this area. 

History of baltit ford

 The foundation stone of baltit ford is lied back 700 years ago, but after that, it had been rebuilt much time. the best memory of it is, in the 16th century the local prince married Baltistan princes, & the Balti princes brought a Balti craftsman to renovate this amazing building as part of her dovery. 

after that many other renovations s done by other kings. 

the Ayeshoo II/ Mir of Hunza was the first ruler that used baltit ford after a conflict with his brother when they were living at altit ford before. so shaboos move to baltit ford and made it the capital seat of Hunza. 

the latest renovation had done by Aga khan trust for Culture, this NGO renovated baltit ford with the help of its engineers and cultural experts and maintained the cultural image of the Ford just like it was in its beginning days. That renovation was completed in 1996, and now the management of baltit ford is under Baltit heritage trust 

Inside baltit fort

As I have mentioned earlier that it has been made with the rich cultural beauties of Gilgit Baltistan but there is very interesting art and fun that have been used to make it a very memorable and beautiful place.

So when you entered from the main gate of the fort you will never notice that you are traveling to the top. Still, suddenly you will reach the top roof of the fort that's something really unique, after that when you go through the narrow tracks of the fort you will notice that the prisons have been made right below the tracks, so one can imagine that when a person entered to the prison he will have to face all the people walking from the top of the prison. After that, you will see the costumes of the King and queen, and also the dresses of the ministers have also been showcased on the walls of the fort.

The cultural items of Gilgit Baltistan, i.e musical instruments, cultural dresses, daily usage items, etc.

The best items are the weapons that have been used by the king and his army for their defense and to attack enemies. 

The mortar located on the roof of the fort shows that they have been used the kind of the time because we know that fight for the thrown has been continued in the past so these weapons were necessary for protection and to attack enemies. 

Once you reach the top of the roof you can see toward the river because of the height and super view. So after reaching the top, don't forget to take the picture of the view and enjoy the best ever view of the valley.